The Wife
by Butterfly Betty
Summary: Bella and Carlisle are starting a new life in San Francisco with their adorable boys and supportive extended family. They've been through hell, but they're together. Aren't they? Will they be able to survive life away from Forks? MA, AU. The Wife, sequel to The Babysitter.
1. Chapter 1

1

*CRASH*

"Bella!" Michael screamed, and I winced as I stood in front of the kitchen sink.

"I've got this one," Peter said before pushing himself away from the stove and walking out of the room. With a shake of my head, I dropped the spatula into the water and moved over to the stove, taking over the bacon that was frying.

Ten days had passed since Michael, Tyler, and I arrived in San Francisco with Peter, and this was at least the seventh crash they'd caused. The first was a vase that Peter had bought for Siobhan on their honeymoon. While he said it was no big deal, I knew it had gotten to him. His house just wasn't child friendly, and the boys were . . . well . . . boys. They were rowdy and tended to be reckless. And they were bored out of their minds.

Hell, so was I. I wanted Carlisle, I needed him, and he was still stuck in Forks, trying to pack up the house, trying to find his way to us. But one thing or another had kept him there. First, it was a problem with the company he'd hired to come help him pack rest of the house. The office manager insisted that Carlisle had called and canceled their contract, which he hadn't. We both agreed that Gabriel Varner had been behind that, but since the company had already booked another family, they couldn't make a new deal, which mean Carlisle, Marcus, and Garrett were on their own.

Also, 'someone' had been making it a habit to call the house non-stop, and when Carlisle unplugged the house phone, the same 'someone' started coming around in the middle of the night. They broke windows, spray painted the words 'whore' and 'slut' on the house, scratched curse words into their cars, which just added more work to Carlisle's heavy workload, and made it impossible for him to sell the place.

After Gabriel Varner's attack on Peter, the district attorney decided that there was enough evidence to actually charge him with attempted rape, assault on both me and Peter, and harassment, but he'd disappeared, vanished in the middle of the night, and that alone didn't make me sleep any easier.

"I love those boys, but they're driving me insane." Peter laughed as he walked into the kitchen and reached for the fork in my hand. "Bella?"

I shook my head and looked over at him. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You okay, sweetheart?" he asked, slowly.

"Fine," I insisted for the eighteen time in the last ten days. "What'd they break this time?"

"A lamp in the den," he said.

I grimaced. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. I told them if they'd sit nicely and watch cartoons while we finished breakfast that we'd go to the beach. That seemed to work."

"Usually does," I murmured, turning back to the sink and placing my hands on the counter.

"You really miss my son, don't you?" Peter asked.

I frowned as I turned back to him and nodded. "I know it's silly. It's only been ten days, but . . . I just . . ."

"You miss him," he said. "It's not silly. Why don't you go upstairs, take a hot bath, and when you're done, we can go to the beach?"

"I can't leave you to feed the boys on your own," I fretted.

"You can, and you will," he insisted. "Believe it or not, I have fed children before, Bella."

"I didn't mean it like that," I told him. "They aren't your responsibility; they're mine."

Peter narrowed his eyes at me, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. He looked just like Carlisle did when he gave me that very expression. "I am ordering you to go upstairs and take a bath."

"Oh, you're ordering me, huh?" I laughed when he nodded. "Fine, whatever. You've been warned."

"Yeah, yeah; whatever," he scoffed, waving me off.

With a sigh, I headed upstairs to my bedroom, or the guest room I'd been sleeping in for the last ten days. Peter lived in one of those fancy, humongous houses that Carlisle had first taken me to look at. Ten days inside a place like that had just reconfirmed my position that I wasn't made for a life in a house like this, but it was better than a cramped hotel room. At least, that's what I was telling myself.

I walked into the large, luxurious bathroom and started the water in the large, claw-foot tub that was bigger than any bathtub I'd ever seen. As the tub filled with water, I walked back into the bedroom and stripped off the shorts and T-shirt I'd put on that morning, wrapped my hair up in a messy bun, grabbed my cell phone, and walked back into the bathroom. I placed my phone on the ledge over the tub. I didn't go anywhere without my phone, always afraid that I'd miss a call from Carlisle. The few minutes we got to talk were barely keeping me going, and I didn't want to miss any if I didn't have to.

Slipping into the hot water, I sighed and leaned back, closing my eyes and trying to relax. My muscles felt tense and sore, though I hadn't really done anything in days. Peter and I had taken the boys to the beach house the day after we arrived in San Francisco, and they'd fallen in love with it. The next day, Peter insisted on taking us to the zoo, where he bought them a ridiculous amount of junk food and toys, but I understood why he felt the need to spoil them. By pushing Carlisle away, he'd lost out on so much time with the boys. This was his way of trying to make up for it. But he couldn't. All he could do now was start fresh and be the grandfather they deserved.

Other than a couple trips to a mall and grocery store, we'd stayed at the house, which was why the boys were going nuts. This wasn't their home, either.

My phone rang, pulling me out of my thoughts. Drying my hand on the small hand towel handing above the tub, I picked up my phone, smiling when I saw Carlisle's name on my screen. I slid my finger across the talk button and brought the phone up to my ear. "Hello, lover."

"Hey, beautiful," he crooned, the silkiness in his voice had my insides turning to goo. "What are you doing?"

"Taking a bath," I purred, knowing the visual of me naked would set him off, and when I heard him groan, I laughed. "What are you doing?"

This time when he groaned, it wasn't out of pleasure. "Oh, you know . . . the usual."

"How much more do you have to do?" I whined.

"Not much," he replied, vaguely. "The boys behaving?"

I snorted. "No. They broke a lamp this morning."

"Jesus Christ, they're a little two-man wrecking crew," he swore.

"They're not comfortable here. They need to get settled in the beach house," I told him.

"I know." There was something in his voice that had me on edge, but before I could ask him if everything was okay, he said, "Isabella, I've gotta go. I'll talk you later."

"Okay, bye." The words barely left my mouth when he hung up. Muttering under my breath, I placed my phone back on the ledge and leaned back in the tub. "Guess I was done talking."

I stayed into the bath until the water turned cold. Standing up, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my body before climbing out of the tub. I reached for my phone, but it slipped from my hand and fell into the water.

"Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," I cursed as I pulled it out and attempted to dry it off on my towel. I rushed into the room and quickly got dressed. Then, I nearly ran downstairs and into the kitchen. The boys were standing on a couple chairs in front of the sink, washing dishes while Peter stood behind them. "Rice! I need some rice!"

"I don't . . ." Peter trailed off as he turned and walked over to the pantry. "Here we go."

I ripped it out of his hand and dug a Ziploc bag from the drawer next to the stove. Dumping the rice into the bag, I added my phone and laid it on the counter.

"What happened?" Pater asked.

"I dropped my stupid phone into the tub," I whimpered.

"Why did you have it in the bathroom with you?" Peter pressed.

I shifted my eyes up to his. "In case Carlisle called."

His lips curved upward.

"Don't," I threatened.

"I'm not doing anything," he snickered, reaching over and picking up the bag of rice. "How long do you leave it in here?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. Just heard that's what you're supposed to do."

"Oh, I see," he said, nodded. He placed the bag of rice back on the counter and looked over at Michael and Tyler. "Okay, who is ready to go to the beach?"

"Me!" the boys cheered, leaping off the chairs they were standing on. I automatically flinched, expecting at least one of them to fall or hit their heads on the counter. But they didn't. They moved their chairs back to the table and turned to face me.

"Are you ready, Bella?" Michael asked.

"Sure," I lied, because I didn't really want to go to the beach, but they needed to get out of the house. "Let me just run upstairs and grab a book."

"No!" Tyler exclaimed, grabbing my hand and attempting to pull me out of the kitchen.

"Why can't I get a book?" I asked, laughing when he pursed his lips together and grunted.

"Um, because . . ." He shot a quick glance to Peter.

"Because it's illegal," Peter blurted out.

I raised an eyebrow. "It's illegal to take a book to the beach?"

"Yes?" Though he made it sound like a question. "I mean, of course it's not, but it should be. It's too nice to spend the day reading."

"But I like to read, and since I can't swim, I won't have anything else to do."

"You can't swim?" Peter, Michael, and Tyler all asked.

I rolled my eyes. "No. My father was terrified of water, so I never learned."

"Well, then we should teach you," Peter said, placing his hands on the boys' backs and ushering them out of the kitchen.

With a shake of my head, I followed. They were acting strange — well, stranger than normal, but I decided it wasn't worth arguing with them about. The four of us climbed into Peter's car, and headed toward the beach.

I expected us to head to the beach house, or one of the public beaches, but Peter pulled up on the interstate and headed toward Sasha's diner. I didn't think much about it, though. They were family, and I knew Edward and Jasper were staying at the bungalow. If they were home and not doing anything, I could always hang out with them while the boys and Peter swam. Then, I wouldn't constantly be thinking about Carlisle.

Who was I kidding? Carlisle was all I thought about.

When we parked in the small lot just up the trail from the diner, I was surprised that there were a half dozen cars parked there, too. It was barely ten in the morning, and only a Tuesday. Nonetheless, the four of us climbed out and when I started toward the diner, Michael and Tyler slipped their hands into mine. I looked down at them, finding them looking up at me with big smiles. Peter rushed down the pathway ahead of us, saying something about making sure everything was ready. I didn't understand what he meant until the boys and I walked through the last of the brush.

"What the . . ." I trailed off as I looked around.

A large canopy had been set up and at least a hundred candles had been lit. There were hundreds of blue and yellow roses, an ivory pathway between the dozen chairs that had been scattered on either side of the aisle. Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Esme were standing on one side, while Edward, Jasper, Garrett, Kate, Marcus, and Sasha stood on the other side. However, it was the two people standing at the end of the aisle that had my attention. Eleazar was standing just behind Carlisle, who had a huge smile on his face.

"Sorry, we're late," Peter mumbled as he rushed over and stood next to Marcus.

"You got her here. That's all that matters," Carlisle said. He reached his hand out to me. "Come to me, Isabella."

"Come on, Bella!" Tyler urged, pulling on my hand. "We have to hurry."

"We do?" I asked, shifting my attention down to him.

He nodded. "Because today you become my mommy. That's what Dad said."

I looked over at Carlisle and smiled. "He did?"

Carlisle's cheeks turned pink, causing everyone to laugh, but then he nodded.

"See!" Tyler exclaimed, and pulled on my hand again.

"Yeah," I whispered as I struggled to keep my tears from falling. I tightened my grip on Michael and Tyler's hands as we walked down the aisle to where their father was waiting for me. They nudged me forward before releasing my hand. I automatically reached for Carlisle, whose fingers found mine. "You're supposed to be in Forks."

"No," he murmured. "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."

"Carlisle," I whimpered.

"I didn't want you to stress over the wedding. If you want, we can have a huge ceremony with hundreds of people that we don't know, but this — this, Isabella, is our family. Mine and yours. And I don't want to go another day without being your husband."

"So, we're getting married right now?" I asked.

He smiled and nodded. "If you'll still have me."

I threw my arms around him and pressed my lips against his, causing everyone to laugh.

"I guess that means she does," Emmett laughed.

Feeling my cheeks warm with my blush, I took a step back and nodded. "I do."

"Ah, not yet, my dear," Eleazar snickered. He looked from me to Carlisle. "Are we ready to begin?"

Carlisle said, "Yes," so Eleazar looked over at me.

"Yes," I murmured.

Eleazar's smile grew as he cleared his throat, and said, "Love is a gift, one to be cherished and nurtured. Today, we've gathered to witness the union between Carlisle and Isabella." Eleazar paused. "Who gives this woman to be married?"

"I do," Peter said, and when I looked over at him, he added, "It's an honor to be your father."

"Thank you," I whimpered, softly.

Peter simply tilted his head toward me. Eleazar turned and faced Carlisle. "Carlisle, do you take Isabella to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, in life as well as in death, good times and bad, until death do you part."

"I do," he vowed with so much sincerity that I struggled to keep my tears from falling. "I so do."

Eleazar laughed and turned toward me. "Isabella, do you —"

"I do," I blurted out, causing everyone to snicker. "I mean . . . I do. I want life and death with you, sickness and health, and the good days and the bad days. I want forever with you, Carlisle."

"I'll take that as a yes," Eleazar mumbled under his breath before he turned to Carlisle. "The rings."

"Oh, yes, of course," he said and dug the two wedding rings my mother had left me out of his pocket and placed them in Eleazar's hand. When he looked at me, he smiled. "This way, they're always close to us."

"Thank you," I whispered.

"You're welcome," he said, winking at me.

Eleazar, once again, cleared his throat and pulled our attention to him. "These rings, like the love you share, are unbroken and never ending. Take these rings and place them on your left ring finger."

Carlisle reached for my ring first. He twisted his fingers around my hand as he lifted it up between us and slide the gold ring down my finger so that it rested against the engagement ring he'd given me just up the beach.

Knowing it was my turn, I picked up the ring from Eleazar's hand and wrapped my fingers around Carlisle's hand. Then, keeping my eyes locked on my lovers, I placed the ring on his left ring finger, sliding it down to the base.

"Boys," Carlisle murmured, causing me to look down at Michael and Tyler. They nodded as Michael reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box.

"This is for you," Michael whispered, and then added, "Mom."

I bit my lip as I knelt down in front of the boys and took the box. "What is it?"

"Open it and found out, silly," Tyler laughed, shifting so that he had his arm wrapped around my shoulder. He leaned up and pressed his lips against my ear. "It's a necklace."

"Ty," Carlisle laughed, sliding his hand onto Michael's shoulder.

"Sorry," he said, but he didn't sound very apologetic.

My fingers shook as I pried the lid to the box up. Nestled inside the soft velvet was a gold necklace with a heart-shaped pennant with two small stones inside. One was an emerald, and the other was a sapphire, both of which were the boys' birthstones.

"Do you like it, Mommy?" Tyler asked.

I nodded, causing my tears to dislodge and fall down my face. "It's beautiful. Will you two help me put it on?"

They murmured their agreement and Carlisle helped them remove the necklace from the box before handing it to Michael. It took a couple of minutes but the boys managed to work the clasp. I wrapped my arms around both of them and kissed their cheeks. "I love you."

"We love you, too," they said together.

I stood up and reached for Carlisle's hands. He immediately took them and brought them up to his lips, and I heard Alice, Rose, Kate, Esme, and Sasha sigh.

"Well," Eleazar said, looking from Carlisle to me, "it's my honor, and my privilege, to pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Carlisle brought his hands up to my face, stroking my cheeks as he leaned forward. "I love you, Isabella."

"I love you, too."

The words had barely left my mouth when his lips were on mine. In that moment, with him kissing me, the boys next us, and our family surrounding us, everything was perfect.

**That Carlisle . . . he makes me swoon, but it's those boys who get me the most! Yes, this is the exciting sequel to The Babysitter. **


	2. Chapter 2

2

"Jesus fucking Christ, are you trying to kill me?" I panted and rolled onto the bed, trying very hard not to move more than I had to. Carlisle laughed and shifted onto his side, smirking as he usually did when he'd fucked me into submission, as he called it. "It's not funny. I'm hurting."

"But it's a good hurt, right?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off my face. "Yeah," I admitted with a sigh. "How much longer do we have until Edward and Jasper drop the boys off?"

"Um," Carlisle looked back at the clock and groaned, "half an hour."

"Just enough time to shower," I murmured, and started to sit up, but stopped when Carlisle snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me back against him. "Lover!"

"I'm not ready to be way from you," he grumbled.

"Then, I guess you'll have to shower with me, won't you?" I asked, sliding out of his arms and standing up.

"Suppose I will." And throwing the blanket off him, he leapt across the bed, swept me off my feet, and carried me into the large, spacious bathroom. "Don't move."

"Yes, sir," I said, saluting him.

He muttered something under his breath as he bent over and turned on the water. Seeing his ass on display, I couldn't stop myself from giving it a hard slap. "Isabella!" he exclaimed, standing up and looking over at me. "Why did you do that?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Because you have a hot ass, and I really wanted to spank you for being naughty."

"I've been naughty?" he asked, and I nodded. "How?"

"Um, let's see," I started. "You lied to me about being in Forks yesterday morning when you called. You organized our wedding without telling me, or giving me a choice in any of the details. You arranged for the boys to spend the night with Edward and Jasper so that we could be alone. Oh, and you've done nothing since we got to the hotel but fuck me. All said offenses are punishable with a swat on the ass."

"Hmm," he hummed, placing his finger on his lips. "First of all, I never said I was still in Forks, just implied that I was still there. Second, I knew you were already stressed out with the move, school starting soon, and other things," he said, cryptically referring to my stalker. Third, I figured you and Dad could use a break from the boys. Fourth, I needed to fuck you, Isabella. I've been craving your touch for days."

I smiled. "You say the sweetest things, lover."

"I try." He turned and bent over to shut off the water, and being the good wife I was, I slapped his ass again. "Isabella!"

"What? You presented it to me. I figured you must have liked being spanked."

He opened his mouth and then closed it. "I didn't hate it."

"Good to know." Smirking, I stepped past him and into the shower and turned to let the warm water wash through my hair and over my body. Carlisle stepped in front of me, his hands gripping my hips and tugging me toward him. His hard cock was pressed between us, and though my body ached from the hours of love-making we'd had, I wanted more. I needed more. Keeping my eyes locked on his, I slid down his body and onto my knees.

"Isabella," he murmured, inhaling deeply.

I didn't respond as I snaked my tongue out, swiping it across the bubbling tip.

"Oh, fuck," he groaned, tangling his fingers in my wet hair. "More, baby. Please, fucking give me more."

My lips parted more and I took him into my mouth, brushing my tongue along his hard shaft. Setting a slow pace, I started moving on him, letting him sliding out of my mouth, swirling my tongue around the tip, and then taking him back in until he hit the back of my throat. Carlisle was panting and groaning, his fingers were grabbing my hair so tight that it almost hurt, but felt good at the same time.

"Your mouth feels so fucking good," he moaned, shifting his hips toward me. "I'm not gonna last long, Isabella."

I sucked my cheeks in, causing him to cry out as he slammed his hand onto the shower wall. His cock pulsated and a moment later, his release filled my mouth. I swallowed every bit before I stood up and placed my hands on his chest.

"Did you like that?" I asked.

"Like is a bit of an understatement," he laughed, sliding his hands down toward my pussy, but I grabbed his hand. "Isabella!"

"Lover, I hurt too much," I whined. "Plus, you gave me like million orgasms already."

"Fine, but later, I'm going to give you number million and one." Carlisle pressed his lips against mine. "Holding you like this, knowing that you're my wife, is an amazing feeling, Isabella. I love you so much."

I smiled. "I love you, too. Feels like our lives are finally starting to settle a little. At least I hope so," I tacked on, thinking about Gabriel Varner.

I wasn't a fool, I knew he wasn't done with me. He'd made his intentions more than clear. He'd find us, and when he did, he would stop at nothing to fuck me. I shivered, pressing my body against Carlisle's.

"Hey, why are you shivering?" Carlisle asked, gliding his fingers across my cheek.

"No reason," I lied.

"If you say so," he said, softly, and then pressing his lips against mine again.

Twenty minutes later, we'd showered and were in our hotel room, getting dressed. Carlisle had managed to get us the same suite we'd stayed in when we first came to San Francisco just a few weeks before. I'd just put a pair of shorts and T-shirt when someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it," I said before walking out of the bedroom, across the gigantic living room, and over to the door. Peeking through the eyehole, I felt my shoulders relax when I saw Jasper and Edward standing there. Unlocking the door, I pulled it open, smiling when I saw them and the boys.

"Mommy!" Tyler cheered, leaping into my arms. I laughed as I held up on my hip. "I missed you."

"You did?" I asked, and when he nodded, I said, "I missed you more."

"Nope," he said, laying his head on my shoulder. He brought his hand up to the heart-shaped neckless that hung around my neck. "You're still wearing it."

"Of course I am. My boys gave it to me." The smiles that lit up Tyler and Michael's faces were breathtaking. I stepped backward and held the door open as I looked over at Edward and Jasper. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Jasper said. He and Edward walked in and stopped as they looked around the large suite. "Damn, this place is nice."

"You said a bad word, Jasper," Tyler laughed, wiggling himself out of my arms and running over and jumping on the couch.

"No jumping on the furniture," Carlisle and I said together as he walked out of the bedroom.

The boys groaned, but rushed over and leapt into his arms. It hadn't been easy to pry them away from their father the night before. After the wedding, Sasha had prepared a feast that made all-you-can-eat buffets look like a snack. The boys glued themselves to Carlisle, and when it was time for us to leave, they weren't happy. They loved Edward and Jasper, but they'd missed their father.

Clearing my throat, I turned to Edward and Jasper, wanting to give Carlisle a few minutes alone with the boys. "Did they give you any trouble last night?"

"Nah," Edward said, sitting on the couch. Jasper sat next to him, placing his hand on his lover's knee. "Alice, Esme, Emmett, and Rose stayed for a while, so we lit a fire in the pit and roasted marshmallows. I think they managed two before they were passed out in our laps."

I smiled. "Sounds like a fun night."

"It was," Jasper replied. "Not as fun as yours, I bet, though."

I opened my mouth, but then shut it. "True."

Behind me, I heard Carlisle laugh and when I looked back at him, he winked at me. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Edward and Jasper. "Thanks for taking them for the night. I'm sure Peter could have handled them, but he's had a long week with us."

"You're welcome," Jasper said. "When are you moving into the beach house?"

"Moving company should be here tomorrow," Carlisle said, lugging the boys over to the couch and sitting down with them practically in his lap. "At least that's what they told me."

"I hope so," I murmured, sitting next to him.

Tyler was immediately in my lap, his head resting on my shoulder. "Me, too."

—TW—

"We're going to be so late," I muttered, rushing around the room and gathering the clothes that trickled out of our bag over the last three days. The movers had called an hour ago and let us know they'd be arriving at the beach house in half an hour, and we were still trying to pack our stuff so we could meet them. The boys were sitting in the living room with the television on while Carlisle and I tried to shove three days' worth of clothes into one bag.

"No, we're not," Carlisle said, throwing one of my shirts at me. It landed on my head, completely covering my face. "Oh, sorry."

"You are not," I scoffed, pulling it off and stuffing it inside. Straightening up, I looked around the room. "I think that's everything."

"I've double checked the bathroom, the boys' room, and the living room. Anything left will be taken to the front desk, or stolen by housekeeping."

"Ha-ha, very funny," I grumbled, zipping up the bag and hooking it over my shoulder. Carlisle walked around the bed, sliding his hand up my arm and taking the bag from me. "I can carry that, you know."

"I do, but I get all kinds of happy feelings when you let me be a gentleman," he said, frankly. "You can do me a favor, though."

"What?" I asked, warily. The night before he'd asked me for a 'favor' and I ended up fingering myself while he fucked my mouth, not that I was complaining. Carlisle was an amazing lover.

"Relax," he told me. I sighed. "We're going to get moved into the beach house today. I promise."

"I know, I know. I'm just so ready to be settled. Feels like we're in limbo, and the boys keep breaking shit," I groused, thinking about the picture they'd knocked off the wall the night before last when Michael threw his shoe at Tyler because he'd elbowed him in the junk.

"Then we'd better go," he suggested, hooking the bag onto his shoulder before taking hold of my hand and leading me out of the room. "Boys, up and out."

Michael and Tyler whined, but climbed off the couch, turned off the television, and walked over to us. They were less than excited about moving into the beach house. All it had taken was one order from room service, and suddenly, they'd been trying to convince us to just live in the hotel. I suspected it had more to do with the fact that there were no dishes, and housekeeping kept the place tidy.

Ten minutes later, the boys, Carlisle, and I were checked out of the hotel and on our way to the beach house. When Carlisle pulled up in the small, drive-way, I was surprised to see other cars parked out front. The boys climbed out of the backseat and rushed down the pathway to the house. Carlisle and I followed and found Edward, Jasper, Alice, and Esme. The only ones missing were Rose and Emmett, who had to fly back to Forks. I hated that they had to go back, but their apartment wasn't going to be ready for another couple weeks and if they wanted Rose's parents to pay their rent, they needed to do everything by their rules.

"Here comes the bride!" Alice sang, bouncing up the pathway, and throwing herself in my arms.

I laughed. "I'm not a bride anymore."

"It's only been three days, Mrs. Cullen. You're still a bride," she snickered, looping her arm in with mine and dragging me over to Esme, who slid her arm around Alice's waist. "This house is adorable!"

"Isn't it?" I asked, looking at the house. "I'm thinking of getting some plants for the porch."

"You sound so grown up," Alice teased.

"Said the girl who bought two ferns for our apartment just last week," Esme countered, winking at me.

"Those ferns are our babies, Esme," Alice pouted.

"I know, honey." Esme leaned down and kissed her softly. "And they're gorgeous. Just stop talking to them like they are babies. That's creepy."

"Okay," Alice sighed, though I could see how happy she and Esme were together. She looked down at her watch. "Where are the movers?"

"Late," Carlisle grumbled as he unlocked the front door. "As usual."

The boys rushed down to their bedroom, yelling about where they were going to put their beds and how they couldn't wait to mess the place up. Carlisle and I showed Edward, Jasper, Alice, and Esme around, and then settled out on the front porch while we waited for the movers to show up.

Waited, and waited, and waited.

Finally, after almost two hours, the large truck pulled up. Carlisle and I shared a look before we headed up the pathway to where they were waiting.

"Sorry, we're late," one of the movers said, shaking Carlisle's hand. "The directions we were given had us on the other side of the city. Then we got stuck in traffic, and, well, let's just say it's been a bad day so far."

"It's fine," Carlisle told him with a wave of his hand. I barely held my snort at bay. It wasn't okay, but whatever. I wasn't in the mood to start crap. All I wanted was to get our stuff loaded into the house. "Where's the other truck?"

"They should be here in ten minutes," the other mover said, though there was something about his tone that made me nervous. It was almost like he knew something that we didn't, and that didn't set well with me.

"All right." Carlisle and I followed him to the back of the truck and waited while the two of them unlocked the back and pushed the door open. "Oh, my God!"

Everything inside the truck had been destroyed. Our couches had been torn to shreds as had the beds. All the boxes were open, and their contents spilled out. I could see broken glass, ripped books, broken toys, clothes cut to scraps, and there was a rotten smell coming from inside, like a mixture of fish and piss. But before I could say anything, I heard the other truck coming down the street, and when I turned back, I felt my heart clench inside my chest. Perched on top of the flatbed, was my truck, the truck I'd inherited from my father. Like everything else we owned, it'd had been demolished. Broken windows, slashed tires, beat up body, and what looked like several different colors of spray painted. On the passenger side of the truck were the words: You're mine, slut.

**Thank you for all the reviews. I know, I know, but I never said it was going to be easy. Two things: the lovely Mina has requested the Edward/Jasper story as a companion piece, so you never know when that might be posted, and I have no idea how long this fic will be. Where I had the other one outlined, I don't this one. I have several key points lined up, but I haven't worked out all the details yet. **


	3. Chapter 3

3

I felt physically ill as I stood there next to Carlisle and stared at the truck I'd inherited from my father, the ones with the words "You're mine, slut" spray painted in bright red.

"How the hell did this happen?" Carlisle snarled, pulling away from me and gesturing to my truck, and then to our belongings that had been shredded.

"We don't know," one of the movers said, rubbing the back of his neck. "When we came out of the hotel this morning, the truck had been destroyed, but we didn't look inside because we're the only ones with the keys."

"Clearly you're not," Carlisle snapped, shaking his head. "You didn't hear anything last night?"

All four movers shook their heads in perfect unison, like they'd rehearsed the roles in this conversation. I brought my hand up to my mouth and struggled to keep the bile from pouring from between my lips. It didn't take a genius to figure out who'd done all of this. Gabriel Varner was making sure we knew that he wasn't backing down, that he was still there, still after me.

"We filed a police report, and they assured us that they would be contacting you as soon as they could," one of the men standing before us said. "And we've got a call into the office, to see how we should handle what's happened as far as reimbursement and such."

"Just fuck it all," I muttered, drawing everyone's attention to me. "I give up."

And without giving them a chance to argue with me, I turned and walked back down the pathway to the house, past Edward and Jasper, Alice, Esme, Michael, and Tyler, and letting myself in through the front door. I managed to make it into our barren bedroom before my knees gave out and I crumbled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. How much more was I supposed to take before I finally broke?

"Isabella!" Carlisle yelled, and a moment later, I heard the door to our bedroom open. When I looked up, I saw him standing in the doorway, a look of pure anguish on his face. "Oh, baby."

"Every time I start to feel like we're free, he comes back," I cried.

Carlisle was by my side in an instant, his arms encircling me. "I know, I know."

"This was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to put all the misery we faced in Forks behind us," I rambled. "Why? Why destroy my father's truck? Charlie was a good man. No, a great man! Why take him from me?"

"I don't know," he murmured. "I wish I could tell you that everything was going to be okay, that we'll never have to deal with him again, but I can't. Until the police find him, until he's actually put in jail, we're going to have to be extra careful."

"But we shouldn't have to be," I grumbled, shifting so that I was sitting next to him with my knees bent in front of me. "We're supposed to be newlyweds, Carlisle. We're supposed to carefree and happy, just us and our boys."

"And we are," he insisted, placing his hand on my chin and gently turning my head toward him. "This is just an opportunity to really start over."

I shook my head. "You know what I mean."

"I do," he admitted. "And I won't lie and say that I'm not pissed about this, too, but, Isabella, we can't let him defeat us like this. Giving up, letting him get to us, is just giving him power over us."

"I know," I agreed, but before I could say anything, someone knocked on the door to our bedroom. Sighing, I said, "Come in."

The door was pushed open and a very nervous looking Alice came into view. "Um, sorry, to bother you, but the police just arrived."

"Okay, Alice, we'll be right out," Carlisle said. She gave me a sad smile before closing the door. Carlisle looked back at me. "You okay to do this?"

"Not really, but let's go," I murmured.

Carlisle scrambled to his feet and held his hands out to me. When I placed mine in his, he pulled me up, sliding his arms around my waist. "I love you, Isabella, and I won't let anyone take you from me."

"I love you, too, even if that did sound a little obsessive," I laughed.

"I'm obsessive over what's mine," he said, kissing me softly.

"Me, too," I whispered.

When Carlisle and I rejoined everyone outside, I could feel our friends watching me. I wanted to scream at them to stop, but I didn't. They loved me, and they'd been here for me when others turned their backs on me and Carlisle, proving more than once that they were true and real friends. And for that alone, I couldn't begrudge them their pity.

Carlisle stopped in front of Alice and Esme, and leaning into both of them, he whispered in their ears before pulling out his wallet and handing them one of his shiny, black credit cards. Before I could question him, or them, Alice squealed, grabbed Esme's hand, and took off toward their car.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked.

"Nothing," he lied, winking at me. And again, before I could question him, he turned to the two police officers who were taking to the four movers. "I'm Carlisle Cullen. This is my wife, Isabella. What are you going to do about Gabriel Varner?"

"Um, who is Gabriel Varner?" one of the cops asked, a tall rusty-haired man with small, beady brown eyes. The tag on his shirt said his name was McCoy. His partner, whose name tag said his name was Hitchens, looked just as confused.

"He's the son-of-a-bitch who has been stalking me for last couple months," I told them, drawing their attention to me. "He was one of my teachers last year, and just before I graduated, he attempted to rape me. Thankfully, my friend Jasper," I gestured toward him, "was able to stop him. However, the district attorney in Forks Washington seemed to feel that their wasn't sufficient proof that he'd attacked me, even though he left bruises on my arms, and Jasper walked in as he had his hand down the back of my pants. Then, about three weeks ago, he grabbed me at the supermarket in Forks, in front of my children, I might add. The police in Forks still didn't arrest him, and a week later, he attacked my father-in-law at our house, cutting his arm. And now, he's taken liberty to destroy everything we own. So, again, what are you going to do about Gabriel Varner?"

McCoy blew out a deep breath as he wrote down everything I'd told him. "You're sure the person who did this the same man who attacked you?"

"I don't know about any other stalkers yet, but we're new to town. Haven't had a chance to piss people off here yet," I quipped.

Hitchens' lips twitched into a smile.

"Do you think this is funny?" I snarled.

"No, ma'am," he said, quickly.

"Look, I don't mean to be bitchy. I really don't. But Gabriel Varner has made my life miserable. He's dangerous, and if he's followed us here, then we're all in trouble. He's made it clear that he won't give up until he gets me, and if that happens, I won't live to see another day. And I'd really like to watch my sons grow up," I pleaded. "So, please, help us."

"We will," Hitchens said, quietly. "Have you taken out a restraining order?"

"No, the judge in Forks refused to issue one, saying that Gabriel Varner hadn't done anything to cross the line." Carlisle paused. "Which is just one reason why we left. We weren't safe there."

"We understand, Mr. Cullen," McCoy said. "Now, the moving company is faxing a list of items that had been cataloged during the move, but you can tell if anything is missing?"

Carlisle shook his head. "Not right off hand."

"Okay, well, as you sort through everything, let us know so that we can add it to the case file," he stated. "We're going to put in a request for your case file in Forks, see if we can do anything about this man."

"Yeah, good luck," I scoffed. "Those assholes won't do anything to help me, not anymore."

"Mrs. Cullen, you're not in Forks, Washington anymore. Now, I'm not going to lie to you and promise that we'll stop this guy, or that he'll never come near you again. But I can say that I personally will do everything I can to help," Hitchens vowed.

Nodding, I brought my hand up to my mouth and tried to keep my tears from falling, but as they cascaded down my face, I knew I failed. "Thank you," I managed to choke out between sobs.

"You're welcome," he said. "Now, can you tell us anything else about this man?"

For the next hours, Carlisle, Jasper, and I told them everything we knew, which wasn't much. As far as any of us knew, Gabriel Varner wasn't married, didn't have any children, and that's when I realized just how much I didn't know about the man who had been stalking me. Who was he really?

"Okay, we'll be in touch this week, see if we can't get something done for you," McCoy said as Hitchens held a card out to us.

"If you need us, day or night, please give us a call," he said.

"Thank you," Carlisle told him as he took the card.

McCoy and Hitchens nodded before they turned and walked over to their car, climbing inside, and pulling away. Carlisle wrapped his arm around my waist as he turned toward the movers. "So what now?"

"The office has given us some space inside the warehouse to unload your belongings, so that you can sort through them. Then, they should reimburse you the cost anything that can't be salvaged, as it states in the insurance you paid for. I'm sorry we can't do more for you," one of them said.

"Yeah, us, too," Carlisle replied, dryly. "We'll be there first thing in the morning."

"Yes, sir," the four of them muttered, before they climbed back into their trucks and left with almost everything we owned. With the exception of the clothes we had, we had nothing. As the moving trucks turned the corner, Alice and Esme pulled up in front of the house. They hopped out and ran around to the truck, popping it open and started tossing out sleeping bags, pillows, several shopping bags that looked filled to the brim with clothes.

"What the hell is all of this?" I asked, gesturing to everything.

"We can't very well sleep inside the house without sleeping bag, can we?" Carlisle asked, taking his credit card back from Alice, who looked very proud of herself. "Thanks Alice, Esme."

"You're welcome," Alice chirped. "We got everything you asked for, except for the groceries. I figured maybe you and Bella could go to the market, since you know what the boys like more than we do."

"We'll stay with the boys," Esme offered.

"Wait a minute!" I exclaimed, causing the three of them to look over at me. However, I turned to Carlisle. "This is what you sent them for?"

He smiled widely. "Yep. I'm not going to let that asshole keep us out of our house tonight, Isabella. Tomorrow, after we go through everything, we can look for some new furniture, but tonight, we're camping out in the living room."

"You're amazing," I murmured, placing my hand on his chest as I leaned up and kissed him. "Thank you. I hadn't even thought about where we were going to stay tonight."

Carlisle brought his hand up to my cheek, stroking his fingers over my rapidly heating skin. "I told you I will take care of you, Isabella, and I meant it."

"Oy, we're standing right here!" Alice laughed.

I smiled and looked over at her. "Thanks, Ali."

"You're welcome," she beamed. "Now, go get food! I think a beach party is on the menu for tonight!"

—TW—

"Daddy, I want another S'more!" Tyler bellowed, leaping from my lap into his fathers, causing Carlisle to groan. Edward was sitting on the other side of the small fire, with Jasper in the sand next to him and Michael in his lap. Alice and Esme had already headed home, since Esme had to work in the morning.

"I don't think so, buddy," Carlisle scoffed. "You've already had four."

"But I want more!" he whined, falling back so that he was hanging off the chair. "Oh, everything is upside down!"

Carlisle gave me a look before he righted his son. "And this is why I limit your sugar intake, Ty. You're a maniac when you're on a sugar high."

"Am not!" he yelled, climbing off Carlisle's lap and running through the sand toward the water.

"Do not get in the water!" Carlisle and I yelled at the same time. However, before I could stand, Carlisle was on his feet and chasing after him.

"Oh, that little stinker is going to be feeling this tomorrow," Edward laughed, sitting in Carlisle's empty chair. He and Jasper had ran over to the bungalow and grabbed all the extra lawn chairs they could find. He looked over at me and smiled. "You almost look happy, Bella."

"I am happy," I said, but then added, "Well, almost happy."

"Me, too." His eyes flittered over to Jasper, who was sitting in the sand with Michael, telling him a story about ghosts and goblins.

"Have you had any luck finding a place to live?" I asked.

Edward shook his head and looked at me. "Everything that we can afford is on the other side of the city, and the ones we like are too expensive. We've tossed around the idea of buying a place, but Jasper's not sure if the gig at Berkeley is going to work out and doesn't think we should get into a long-term commitment if we end up having to move again."

"Oh," I replied with a frown. "Is that a possibility?"

"Probably not, but we weren't expecting to have to leave Forks so suddenly, either," he said. I nodded. "Are you ready for school to start?"

"No," I admitted. "I pretty scared, actually."

"Why?"

I sighed. "Because in Forks I was the smart girl who turned into the slutty girl. But here, I won't be the smartest person in my class, I'll be like everyone else."

"No, you won't," he disagreed. "You'll always be extraordinary."

Carlisle walked up the beach with Tyler hanging off his shoulder. "Time for bed, I think. Michael, let's go."

"No fair," he grumbled, but pushed himself off the ground and walked over to his father.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the meanest dad ever," Carlisle laughed, leading him inside.

"Well, we should get going," Jasper said, offering Edward his hand. He took it and when Jasper pulled him to his feet, he snaked his other arm around his waist and kissed him. Jasper looked over at me. "We'll leave the chairs here, in case it's a few days before you get any furniture."

"Thank you." I stood up and hugged both of them. "For everything."

"You're welcome, honey." Jasper kissed my forehead. "If you need us, just call, okay?"

I nodded and watched as they walked around the house to where their car was. Turning back to the small fire, I was about to kick some sand on it when I felt Carlisle wrap his arms around my waist. I sighed as I leaned into his touch.

"You look so beautiful out here," he murmured. "Makes me want to touch you."

"Hmm," I moaned. "I want that, too."

Carlisle spun me around in his arms, his lips crushing down onto mine. And with him holding me, the feel of his lips on mine, I forgot about the truck full of damaged belongings, or my father's destroyed truck. In this moment, all that mattered was me and Carlisle and our boys.

**Thanknyou for all the reviews. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

4

It was hopeless. I knew it, Carlisle knew it, all of our friends knew it, but nobody but me would admit that it was hopeless. The day after the moving trucks showed up with our shattered lives, Carlisle and I, along with Edward and Jasper, tried to sort through everything, see if we could find anything that could be saved, but other than a few photos of the boys, a couple of medical books of Carlisle's, and one glass, everything was ruined.

All because one asshole had some sort of sick fixation on me. Was this all really because he figured that since I would fuck one older man that I was a whore and would fuck him, too? And how long had he been fixated on me? Just the thought of him having watched me, lusting after me, fantasizing after me, made me sick to my stomach. The only man I wanted thinking about me like that was Carlisle.

"MOM!"

I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard Michael scream for me. I still hadn't gotten used to the boys calling me mom, and it always brought a smile to my face. Leaving the clothes I'd been folding on the floor — the clothes we'd just bought the day before when we hit the mall in an effort to start over — I scrambled to my feet and rushed out of the living room, down the hallway to the boys rooms, and stopped in the doorway, biting back the urge to laugh. Tyler had a bucket on his head, and from the looks of it, it was stuck.

"What in the world?" I asked, and walked over to them, giving the bucket a hard tug.

It popped right off, and an angry-looking Tyler turned and glared at his brother. "You said you weren't going to tell her!"

"I didn't." Michael smirked, and folded his arms in front of his chest. "I just called for her. She discovered you all on her own when she came in here."

"Oy vey, you two are giving me a headache," I said. "Why did you have this on your head, Ty?"

He shrugged his little shoulders. "I wanted to see if it would fit. I did."

"You scare me, little man," I mused.

"I know." He sounded so proud of himself, which frightened me even more. "I'm hungry!"

I laughed. "Why doesn't that surprise me? Go see if Dad, Edward, and Jasper are done putting mine and Dad's bed together. If they are, ask if they want to go get some ice cream."

"And if they aren't?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

"Then I guess we can't get any ice cream," I said.

His eyes flew open as he and Michael scrambled out of their bedroom and down the hallway to my room. Carlisle, Edward, and Jasper had been working all day on trying to get our new beds set up so that we didn't have to spend another night sleeping on the floor. So far, they'd gotten the boys' beds up, but ours was still in pieces. And beds, a washer, and a drier were all we'd managed to buy so far. We'd looked at couches, but none of them were what we wanted, the measurements in the kitchen wouldn't accommodate the appliances we needed, and we were both too tired and cranky to attempt to look at dressers, tables, or anything else. So, the television we'd bought was on the floor, but at least the boys could watch cartoons.

I'd just returned to the living room was about to pick up a stack of towels, when I heard the not-so-pitter-patter of feet rushing down the hallway, and when I looked over, I saw Edward, Jasper, Carlisle, Michael, and Tyler standing there.

"So, the boys mentioned something about ice cream?" Carlisle asked, trying too hard to sound casual.

"They did, huh?" I mused. "I might have said something about getting some if you're done putting the bed together."

All five of them frowned, and I had to bit the inside of my cheek to keep from outright laughing at them. They all looked like I'd just told them Christmas was canceled.

"So . . ." I trailed off. "Are you done?"

"Um, yeah," Carlisle lied. Outright lied to me.

"Yeah?" I asked, taking a step toward him. "I can't wait to see it."

"I mean, we're almost done," he said, putting his hands up. "Like halfway."

"At least," Jasper added.

"Maybe even more," Edward told me. "But you know, we're a little shaky, so we probably need some sugar. Hypoglycemia and everything."

"Oh, really?" I asked, causing him to nod. "Well, guess we'd better get going then, huh? Wouldn't want you to pass out, would we? You might fall into that load of bullshit you just spouted."

Carlisle and Jasper burst out laughing, while Michael and Tyler looked scandalized that I would dare curse in front of them. Eh, they were young, and needed to learn the ways of the street.

"Even though you just insulted me, Bella, I'm going to allow you to buy me an ice cream. A big one, too," Edward said.

"Well, as long as you're being generous," I snickered.

"I do what I can, Bella; I do what I can."

Half an hour later, the six of us were crowded around a large table in a small ice cream parlor a few miles from the beach house. The boys had each gotten two scoops of chocolate, while Jasper went with peppermint, Edward with rocky road, Carlisle with strawberry, and I picked orange sherbet.

We'd been sitting there about ten minutes when Carlisle's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the ID, shifted his eyes to mine before he stood up and walked away as he said, "Tanya."

Dropping my spoon into my into my bowl, I shifted in my seat and watched Carlisle as he stood on the other side of the parlor and talked to his ex-wife. The irritated look on his face made it clear that he wasn't happy that she'd called, and I couldn't shake the feeling that her phone call had something to do with Gabriel Varner, especially when Carlisle shifted his eyes over to me and he nodded.

"So, Bella," Edward said, drawing my attention to him. He tilted his head in the boys' direction, who were watching their father attentively, too, as he added, "What time is Carlisle heading into the office tomorrow?"

"Um, early, I think. Around seven. He said he wants to familiarize himself with the building before patients start coming in. How about you?" I asked.

"The same. If I can get through traffic, anyway," Edward said with a nervous laugh.

I nodded, and looked back at Carlisle just as he closed his phone. He shoved it into his pocket before dragging a hand over his face and through his hair. Then, he turned back toward us, his eyes meeting mine, and I saw the defeat he was feeling. What had she told him that had him so emotional?

He gave me a weak smile before he walked back over and sat down next to me, resting his arm on the back of my chair.

"Everything okay?" I whispered, hoping the boys wouldn't be able to hear.

He nodded. "Yep."

Knowing there was more to the story, but that he wasn't ready to tell me, I picked up my spoon and tried very hard to keep from feeling like our entire world was shattering again.

—TW—

Once we finished our ice cream, we packed back up in the car and headed back to the beach house. Edward and Jasper insisted on taking the boys down to the water while Carlisle and I stayed at the house. They were giving us a chance to talk about Tanya without the boys overhearing, and once again, I found myself thankful for their friendship.

Carlisle and I settled on the steps and watched as the boys ran toward the water. The beach had been such a selling point with them. Carlisle reached over and wove his fingers in with mine, drawing my attention to him.

"She's sick," he murmured. "Breast cancer. Late stage. Said she'd felt the lump right after Tyler was born, but thought it was just a clogged milk duct, and then she left and ignored it. She started having some shortness of breath and stomach pains, so she finally went to the doctor. The cancers already spread to her lungs, liver, and pancreas. Says they've only given her a few months."

"That's very sad," I whispered, unsure of what else to say.

He nodded. "She wants to see the boys. Begged me to bring them to her, or let her come here. Can you believe that?"

"I can," I admitted, causing him to look at me. "She is their mother, Carlisle. And now that she's facing the end of her life, I'm sure she wants a chance to see them, to . . . I don't know . . . make things right."

"Seeing them again isn't going to make it okay that she abandoned them, Isabella," he argued.

"I never said it would," I countered. "And she's going to die knowing that her selfishness cost her three years with her children, Carlisle, but they're going to live a lifetime always wondering where she is, why she left."

"They shouldn't have to deal with her at all," he grumbled.

"Maybe not," I admitted.

Carlisle sighed. "But you're right. The boys need closure, too."

"They do," I agreed.

Carlisle brought my hand up to his lip, placing a kiss on my knuckles. "You're an amazing woman, Isabella."

"Only because I have you," I murmured, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Ha, I'm the lucky one here, baby," he snickered.

"Okay, maybe," I laughed.

A few minutes later, Edward and Jasper brought the boys back up to the house, and they, along with Carlisle, headed back into the bedroom to finish putting the bed together. While the boys kept themselves busy in their room, I tried to focus my attention on the laundry.

After another hour, the bed was finally put together and Edward and Jasper quickly left. I think they were afraid that I'd put them to work some more. They'd already done too much for us. Carlisle and the boys headed out to pick up a couple of pizzas and I took advantage of the empty house and decided to take a bath, making sure to lock all the doors of course.

Once the tub was filled, I stripped off my clothes and climbed in, letting the warmth wash over me. The last few days had been stressful, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to get my body to relax. Of course it didn't help that McCoy and Hitchens — the two cops who'd taken our statements over our busted lives — hadn't been able to convince the judge to issue the restraining order based on the evidence. They'd met us at the warehouse the moving company had supplied and told us that without proof that Gabriel Varner had been the one to destroy our belongings, there was nothing he could do. I understood his position, but he shouldn't have even been allowed to walk the streets. The man had tried to rape me, and then tried to hurt Peter. Didn't they understand that he wasn't going to stop until he got to me, or they arrested him for good?

For the second time that day, my attention was pulled away from the thoughts of Gabriel Varner, only this time it wasn't because Michael had called out to me, but because of a loud bang coming from outside. With shaking arms and legs, I climbed out of the tub, and wrapped a towel around my body. As I stepped out of the bathroom, I heard the sound again. It sounded like someone was banging two cymbals together.

My heart was racing as I rushed into my bedroom and into the closet, grabbing the baseball bat Carlisle had put inside. I wasn't stupid enough to go looking for the source of the noise, and I wasn't about to let Gabriel Varner get to me without fighting tooth and nail to stop him.

"Isabella?" Carlisle called out. I scrambled to my feet and rushed out of the closet just as he walked into our bedroom. He looked from me in a towel with a bat raised above my head to the closet, and asked, "Do I want to know?"

"Was that you?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Was what me?"

"Making the bangs outside!" I wailed. "Was that you?"

Carlisle's forehead furrowed as he looked from me to the window, and slowly shook his head. "What kind of bangs?"

"Loud," I whimpered. "Really loud."

"Okay, give me the bat," he said, holding his hand out toward me.

"Carlisle," I cried.

He crossed the room and took the bat from me as he brought his other hand up to my face. "Get dressed and go to the boys. I'll be okay."

"Promise?" I simpered.

"I promise, sweetheart."

Then kissing me chastely, he turned and walked out of the room. I quickly dressed in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt before rushing into the kitchen. The boys were trying to put a slice of pizza on their paper plates, so I went and helped.

"Come on, we'll have a picnic on mine and Daddy's bed," I murmured, grabbing the pizzas and ushering them down the hallway and into our bedroom.

While they laughed and scrambled onto the bed, I sat on the edge and kept my eyes on the door, waiting for Carlisle to come back. A couple of minutes later, I heard the front door open. I stood up, moving so that I was standing between the door to the bedroom and the boys who were munching away on their pizza.

"Isabella!" Carlisle yelled.

"In here," I replied, the words shaky as they tumbled out of my mouth. In a heartbeat, he was standing in the doorway, his eyes flittering from me to the boys and back. He tilted his head for me to step out into the hallway, so I walked past him. "Did you find anything?"

He shook his head. "No, but the trash bins had fallen over. Maybe that's what you heard?"

"Yeah, maybe," I murmured.

Carlisle placed his hands on either side of my face. "I am not going to let anything, or anyone, get to you, Isabella I promise."

"You can't make that promise," I groused.

"I can, and I am." Leaning in, he pressed his lips against mine. "Trust me, Isabella."

"I am," I whimpered "With everything."

As Carlisle and I joined the boys on the bed, I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching us. Watching us and waiting to make their move.

**Thank you for all the reviews. **


	5. Chapter 5

5

"Are you nervous?" I asked, pulling my knees up in front of me as I watched my husband getting ready for his first day at the new medical co-op.

"Terrified," he admitted, turning away from the mirror and holding up two ties. "Which one?"

"Hmm," I hummed, climbing off the bed and walking over to him, taking both of them from him. The first was a deep blue, which would bring out his eyes, and the other was a dark red, which would look amazing on him. "Blue."

And then wrapping the tie around the back of his neck, I began to tie it for him.

"Your dad teach you how to tie a tie?" he asked.

I shook my head. "My mom did. Dad couldn't tie one if his life depended on it, so Mom always had to do it for him. When I was ten, she got sick. A bad case of the flu. Well, Charlie had to testify for a case he'd busted open, and he needed to look nice. Renee was too sick to do it herself, so she told me step by step how to do it. Took us a few tried, but I finally managed it." I placed my hands on his chest. "You're going to have a great day."

"It's just so hard starting new, you know? People around here don't know me, know the kind of doctor I am. It's a lot of pressure," he murmured, sliding his hands onto my hips and tugging me against his body. "Plus, I'm going to miss you."

I smiled. "I'll miss you, too."

"Are you sure you can handle the boys on your own?" he asked.

"Yep," I chirped. "Alice is picking us up in two hours, and we're going to head over to the campus and get registered for our classes, and then, if all goes well, I thought I might pick up some dinner from Sasha's. We really need to buy some actual appliances so that we don't have to eat take out every night."

"We can go look this weekend," he said. "You really think it's a good idea to take the boys to the campus with you?" he asked with a grimace.

"No," I laughed. "But Esme's working, and Jasper's got a meeting with the head of the English department. Edward's working with you, and Peter's back in L.A. for the week, and Emmett and Rose aren't here yet. There's nobody for them to stay with, and, well, to be honest, I need to keep them close," I admitted, feeling my cheeks flush with my embarrassment. While he'd been convinced that the banging noise I'd heard the night before were from the trashcans falling over, I wasn't. To be honest, until Gabriel Varner was locked up, I wouldn't feel safe.

"Isabella," Carlisle said, bringing his hand up to my face.

"Oh, sorry," I murmured. "The boys and I will be fine."

"If you say so," he groused, turning back and facing the mirror. "Guess I should go."

"You're going to make a difference here, Carlisle."

"I hope so," he whispered before turning to face me again. He cupped my face between his hands and pressed his lips down onto mine. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

I walked Carlisle out onto the porch and watched as he climbed into his car and drove off. My eyes flittered in every direction, needing to be sure that nobody was watching us before I walked back inside and into my bedroom.

After a quick shower, I walked into the kitchen and started some coffee. The boys came stumbling into the room a few minutes later, looking as tired as I felt. Tyler climbed into my lap and laid his head on my chest.

"You okay, honey?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I'm tired."

"Me, too," Michael grumbled and sat on the other side of the small wooden table we'd managed to find. "And hungry."

"As soon as Alice gets here, we can go get some breakfast. Did you have trouble sleeping?" I asked.

Michael said, "Yes," while Tyler simply nodded.

"It's too quiet," Michael added.

"Yeah," Tyler agreed, bringing his hand up and toying with the necklace hanging around my neck.

"Hmm, maybe we need to get you a radio or something to help with the noise," I suggested as someone knocked on the front door. Sliding Tyler off my lap, I walked out of the kitchen, through the living room, and pulled open the door, finding an extremely cheerful Alice leaning against the doorjamb. In her hands was a box of donuts. "I thought you'd be another half hour," I told her, gesturing for her to come in.

"Well," she started, "I knew you wouldn't be able to make the boys breakfast, so I thought I'd stop and get some donuts."

"Donuts!" Tyler screamed, rushing out of the kitchen and yanking the box out of Alice's hands and running back into the kitchen.

Alice and I laughed.

"Guess he likes donuts," Alice snickered.

"Kid loves anything with sugar," I scoffed and led her into the kitchen. The boys were sitting at the table with a donut in each hand and frosting all over their faces. "Um, dudes, did you forget something?"

Michael and Tyler looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"How about plates? Or napkins? Or even a thank you to Alice for bringing the donuts you're stuffing into your mouths?" I asked.

Michael and Tyler, without missing a beat, turned to Alice and said, "Fank Ou, Awuss."

She laughed. "You're welcome."

I shook my head as I grabbed four paper plates, the roll of paper towels, and put them on the table. Then, I opened the box and select a nice looking maple donut for myself, before looking back at Alice. "Cherry?"

"You know it, girl," she giggled, sliding into the chair next to Michael and accepting the plate from me. Michael leaned toward her, causing Alice to shift her body away from him. "This one's mine, little man."

"I know," Michael laughed, but scooted closer to her.

"Mmhmm," Alice hummed, before picking her donut up and taking a bite. "Damn, that's good."

Clearing my throat, I tilted my head toward the boys before I sat down.

"Oh, sorry," she muttered.

"Yeah, yeah," I laughed.

—TW—

An hour later, Alice and I were standing in the admissions office at UC Berkeley, behind roughly a couple hundred other people. The boys were beginning to get restless, and were fidgeting as they stood between the two of us. Plus, with so many people in a fairly small area, everyone's body heat had made the room extremely overheated, which didn't make me, or the boys, happy.

"Stop pushing me!" Michael exclaimed, placing his hands on Tyler's shoulders and shoving him backward.

Tyler fell onto the floor, and started crying—quite loudly, which of course drew the attention of everyone around us. "Ouch!" he wailed, putting his arms up.

Sighing, I lifted him off the ground and turned to Michael. "Don't push him down."

"I didn't!" he whined, stomping his foot.

"Dude, I just saw you push him," I argued.

"Did not," he mumbled under his breath. I rolled my eyes and looked over at Alice, who gave me a look that clearly said the kid was crazy.

"This is going to take forever," Alice said, leaning around the people standing before us. When she looked back at me, she sighed. "Why don't I take them outside, let them run around for a little bit? Then, when I come back, hopefully, the line will be shorter."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Maybe you should stay here, and I'll take them out?"

"No," she insisted. "Honestly, I need to get the fuck out of here."

The woman standing in front of us, turned and glared at her, not that it phased her. Alice ignored her and placed her hand on Michael's shoulder, while gesturing for me to put Tyler down. "We'll be fine."

"Okay, if you're sure," I groused, setting Tyler on his feet. Looking from her to him and his brother, I pointed a finger at them. "Be good. Stay where you can see her, and if she tells me that you're being brats, then you will spend the rest of the night in your room."

"Yes, ma'am," they said together.

Alice gave me a smile before she turned and led through out of the office. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check my text messages, but before I could, the person standing behind me cleared their throat, pulling my attention to them. At over six-foot, the dark haired man smiled, his eyes crinkling around the corners. He had broad shoulders, tan skin, and was dressed in a pair of board shorts with large white flowers on them, a white, sleeveless shirt, and a pair of orange flip-flops.

"Kind of nuts in here, isn't it?" he asked, smiling. I nodded, and turned my attention back to my phone, but once again, he cleared his throat, causing me to look at him. "I'm Seth."

"Bella," I said, before turning to my phone again.

"I'm a freshman," he said. "How about you?"

I sighed, and nodded. "Me, too."

"I don't know about you," he started, "but I'm feeling very overwhelmed."

"Yeah, it's a lot to take in," I said.

He smiled wider. "Sounded like your little brothers were feeling it, too."

"Brothers?" I asked, frowning.

"Yeah, the two boys with you," he said.

My mouth opened in shock. "They aren't my brothers; they're my sons."

His eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed."

"It's okay," I told him before looking at my phone, finding that I had a text message from Carlisle and Emmett, the latters including a picture of him and Rose standing next to his jeep and holding a sign that said 'Destination: San Francisco.'

"Friends or family?" Seth asked, and I clutched my phone to my chest as I looked back at him. "Sorry, I'm nosy."

"Yes, you are," I agreed. "And friends, not that you need to know."

"I've offended you, haven't I?" he grimaced.

"No," I said. "Just don't like people peeking over my shoulder. Kind of a thing with me."

"You're right, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just . . ." He shook his head. "I feel a bit out of place here."

"Me, too," I laughed. "You're not from San Francisco?"

"No," Seth said, quickly. "Ohio, actually."

"Wow, you're a long way from home."

"Not really," he disagreed. "Don't really have a home there."

I frowned.

"My parents, they're . . ." He trailed off, like the words inside his head physically hurt him. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm here now."

"But it's hard to start new, isn't it?" I asked, and he nodded. "I'm from Washington. State, I mean. And, um, my husband and I are trying to get settled, and it hasn't been easy."

"How long have you been married?" Seth asked.

I smiled. "Just over a week."

He looked at me, then back toward the door that Alice had ushered the boys through, and I laughed. "Technically, they're my step-sons, but in my heart, they're mine."

"Ah, I see." He nodded, gesturing for me to move forward, which I did. "Well, congratulations. Must be nice to have someone to love."

"It is," I admitted. "So you don't have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?"

"I'm straight, thank you very much," Seth laughed. "But no, I don't have anyone special. Haven't met that perfect girl yet."

"You will," I said, as we slowly moved forward.

"You think?" he asked, and I nodded. "What makes you think so?"

"I don't know." I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess I'm an old romantic at heart. Believe in love at first site, even if it takes a while before we realize what we're feeling is love. Guess that sounds kind of silly, huh?"

"No," he said. "Reminds me of something my gram used to say. She is . . . was the sweetest old lady. And, um, she'd always say that around the next sunset was a fresh start, and if we believed, anything was possible."

"I like that," I murmured. "You two were close?"

Seth nodded. "She raised me from the time I was four years old."

"Sounds like you were lucky," I said.

"I was," he agreed, and there was something in his tone that told me he didn't feel as lucky anymore, but before I could say anything else, he tilted his head past me, and when I looked over, I saw that I was next and the lady behind the counter was gesturing toward me.

"Oh, thanks," I murmured, as I walked over to her. "Hi, I need to register for classes."

"I need some ID, sweetheart," she said, smacking the gum in her mouth.

Pulling my wallet out of my purse, I fumbled as I pulled it out from the plastic holder. "I just got married, so my name is different. I haven't had a chance to change it yet."

I was just about to hand the lady my driver's license, when the door to the admissions office was thrown open. We all looked back, and I felt my heart clench in my chest when I saw Alice and Michael, but no Tyler. Alice's eyes found mine, and the sorrow and grief filling them had me struggling to stay upward.

"I can't . . . I can't find Tyler," she cried.

**Thank you for all the reviews. Yep, I'm just that evil. Hope Tyler is okay.**


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